Shannon Spencer

Mr. Teller

Navajo DOT

29 April 2016

Aviation Questions

As a firm believer in the future of technology, I say that the Navajo Nation would benefit

greatly from advances and technological wonders of aviation. For example, today we live in a

world where technology is advancing every day to help people be more productive, more secure,

and more environmentally considerate. For example, surveillance or unmanned airborne

platforms that provide the possibility to acquire data in dangerous and/or hard-to-reach areas,

while offering an excellent cost-to-benefit-ratio for numerous applications, e.g., precision

farming, forestry, and mining. These factors; farming, forestry, and mining are very popular here

on the reservation and this is just a simple taste of how aviation technology could potentially

benefit the reservation. Also Im sure youve heard of the dangerous chemtrails that are

environmentally dangerous and are bad for our health, when in reality the chemtrails are

actually water vapor. See all these attributes just do not apply to the Navajo Nation but to all the

communities of the world. We have faster deliveries of food, supplies, luxuries, and its the

fastest way of traveling. Faster means more conserving time and resources, also to add,

emergency services can be in a matter of minutes if/when the time comes whether the emergency

be natural or not. In the future, we as a people will have our foot in the door when the

technological wonders advance in the outside world, we would be ready for any challenges and

trials that presents itself to us.

 Currently being in the Civil Air Patrol and already having some experience in aviation

(powered and unpowered fixed-wing planes)and ground control (wing runner), I am hoping for a

chance to learn more and possibly pass on my knowledge to my fellow cadets at the Gallup Civil

Air Patrol Raptors Squadron for example, when I attended basic summer encampment whether

thatd be doing basic drill or using a map and compass or when I attended glider encampment, I

could teach the fellow cadets how to fly with a tow plane pulling the aircraft or how to wing run.

What I learned from those encampments I retaught to my cadets. Actually not just my cadets but

the cadets at the Civil Air Patrol unit in Salem, OR. I learned how to convert chemical energy to

mechanical energy, how cylinder arrangements and lean and rich mixtures power an aircraft to

its full potential, or whether not I should crab into a crosswind of 5 knots while landing, to me

part of knowing all these different things is sharing the information. Having most of my flight

hours being in an Schleicher ASK 21 Glider. I would love to have my hands on a powered

aircraft learning new maneuvers, phraseology, and even how to handle all situations; these

attributes that I wish to acquire during my stay at the encampment. Being a young adult I am

always looking for new things to learn and new skills. That would be your general

aeronautical/astronautical knowledge partially why I love astronomy at high school instead of

other subjects. Plus when I learned about space environments, aircraft systems and airports, air

environments, rockets, and spacecraft during my tests and lessons at the summer camps I was

quite ahead in my Astronomy class and U.S. History when we touched subject of aviation. Also,

advancing my education and training (to be a pilot) to be of service to my community (Navajo

Tribe and White Mountain Apache Tribe), state (Arizona and New Mexico), and nation.

I believe this opportunity would greatly benefit me since I am looking into becoming a

pilot in the near future, not as a hobby but as a career. I am wanting to attend certain colleges to
become a pilot, I am unsure of what aerospace major I would like to major in because of the

amount of choices that I have but earning my private pilot license. Having this activity on a

college (whether that be United States Air Force Academy, Utah Valley University Flight School,

or Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) application would look beautifully amongst other

various activities Ive done, services I can do, and the experiences Ive acquired. Plus, every

hour that Im in the air is recorded in a logbook that I would carry for the rest of my life will look

well for any aviation career I choose to accept or be accepted into. I am currently wanting to

attend the United States Air Force Academy and doing so wont be so easy but having this

opportunity on my college application would make me a potential asset to the United States Air

Force Academy, especially during the student selection process for attendees. If I dont go the

military path I am still looking to be an aviator, whether thatd be private, commercial, or maybe

another government agency like flying for law enforcement or just being a means of

transportation of cargo or personal. Before any of those events come to play I am looking into

another high school, I am looking into enrolling at New Mexico Military Institute. New Mexico

Military Institute being one of the most respected schools in the nation, also has a

student/attendee selection process that I would hope to pass to attend the school. At more private

schools Ive definitely have gotten more for my education than I have at a more public school,

thats why I wish to attend New Mexico Military Institute . Furthermore, just from what I

learned at the Basic Civil Air Patrol Encampment I knew what UDF (Urban Direction Finding)

was, or some of the most basic rocket science that eventually put me ahead in my astronomy

class. Ive learned so much at these encampments than I have at certain schools, thats why I am

choosing to hopefully to attend this encampment so I can learn to become a better pilot, a better
intellectual, a better teacher, and a more productive citizen to my CAP squadron, tribes,

community, state, and nation.